Picket fences are in widespread use to demarcate property lines and to enclose specific spaces within a property such as a patio, backyard deck, pool, and the like. Such fences incorporate a variety of designs but generally consist of a sequence of vertically aligned, elongate balustrades or pickets that are fastened perpendicularly to horizontal support members or rails with intervening spaces between any two pickets. An early version of the picket fence was comprised of flat rectangular pickets with pointed top ends attached to one side of upper and lower horizontal support members so that the pointed ends of the pickets were exposed and disposed above the upper horizontal member. This design and construction technique presented not only a pleasing, aesthetic appearance but also provided a functional characteristic as the top pointed ends of the pickets discouraged climbing over the fence.
Another type of picket fence is comprised of elongate, rectangular pickets or balustrades that are attached at opposing ends thereof to upper and lower fence rails. With this type of fence, the upper fence rail is located over the top end of the pickets and functions as the uppermost surface or portion of the fence. The pickets are attached to the fence rails by various methods and devices. For instance, the ends of the pickets can be configured into a particular shape or design that is received into cooperating apertures or bores located in the fence rails, such as screw threads formed onto the ends of the pickets and around cooperating bores of the fence rails so that the pickets can be screwed into said fence rails. However, such method of attachment provides an inadequate means of affixing pickets to fence rails if the fence components are manufactured of certain materials that have limited load-bearing capabilities such as plastic or vinyl.
The pickets can also be attached by fasteners such as nails or screws to the fence rails with said means of attachment strengthened as needed by the use of brackets and the like. This method of attachment presents less than a satisfactory appearance as nails and screws may be visible if not properly countersunk and if any brackets are not seated within a depression so that said fasteners and brackets are flush with the surface of the pickets and fence rails.
What is needed then is the provision of a fastening means and a method of assembling picket fences that overcomes the aforementioned disadvantages of assembling picket fences. The subject of the instant invention presents a variety of fasteners that can be used for attaching pickets to upper and lower fence rails and a method for such assembly in order that a picket fence that is stable and secure can be erected using a variety of fence construction materials while also providing the fence with a pleasing and aesthetic appearance. Such fastening means is comprised of fasteners that are inserted at a first portion or end thereof into opposing ends of a picket and inserted at a second portion or end thereof into adjacent fence rails.
Numerous designs for assembling picket fences have been provided in the prior art. Even though these designs may be suitable for the specific individual purposes to which they address, they would not be suitable for the purposes of an aspect of the invention. Such designs are exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 4,377,275, Railing Construction, issued to Faber et al. on 22 Mar. 1983; U.S. Pat. No. 4,625,948, Picket Fence, issued to Lustvee on 2 Dec. 1986; U.S. Pat. No. 4,968,005, Picket Attachment, issued to Zen on 6 Nov. 1990; U.S. Pat. No. 5,029,820, Wedge-Adjustable Base For Rail Posts and The Like, issued to Katz on 9 Jul. 1991; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,454,548, Modular Metal Fencing And Gratings Employing Novel Fastening Means For Reduction Of Assembly Time, issued to Moore on 3 Oct. 1995.
As such, it may be appreciated that there is a continuing need for a new and improved fastening means and method of assembling picket fences that is comprised of fasteners that are inserted into or otherwise attached at a first portion or end thereof to opposing ends of a picket and inserted at a second portion or end thereof into adjacent fence rails so that a picket fence of various materials such as wood, metal, vinyl, and the like can be assembled quickly and efficiently and with a pleasing and aesthetic appearance. These aspects of the invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus that substantially fulfills this need. Additionally, the prior and commercial techniques do not suggest the present inventive combination of component elements arranged and configured as disclosed herein.